Idaho Mother Sentenced 90 Days in Prison for Having Sexual Relationship With Underage Teen Boy

Amanda Katherine Steele
Caribou County Sheriff's Office

Amanda Katherine Steele, 35, was ordered by District Judge Daren Simpson to spend 90 days in jail followed by seven years on felony probation.

An Idaho mother who admitted to an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenage boy in 2016 was sentenced to three months in jail, according to prosecutors. Amanda Katherine Steele, 35, was ordered by District Judge Daren Simpson to spend 90 days in jail. 

She will also be required to spend seven years on felony probation.

If Steele does not successfully complete her probation, she could face three to 10 years in prison, the East Idaho News reported.

Steele’s sentencing came after she pleaded guilty to two felony counts of injury to a child. Originally, prosecutors charged Steele with three felony counts of child sexual battery committed by lewd conduct. Those charges were amended as part of a plea agreement, cited the newspaper. 

According to prosecutors, Steele began having illegal sexual contact with a 17-year-old in 2016, 7News reported

Authorities allege that the teen would skip school as well as Latter-Day Saint seminary in order to have sex with the woman. 

Steele reportedly admitted in court that at least one sexual encounter happened in the teenager's home, while another happened at her home.

At least one other teen alleged that he had sex with Steele, but he was not named as a victim in the plea agreement, People Magazine reported.

Authorities first began investigating Steele in 2017 after her then father-in-law reported hearing rumors that boys would hang out at her home, East Idaho News reported..

The investigation stalled in 2018 after both the alleged victims and Steele stopped cooperating with police during interviews, according to reports. 

But in 2019, following Steele's divorce, the 35-year-old’s ex-husband spoke to police and told them that Steele had confessed to having sex with the underage victim. He also alleged that he had seen them “snuggling” in a hot tub, People reported. 

While the victim considered the sexual conduct consensual, prosecutors charged Steele because, under Idaho law, a minor who is 16 or 17 cannot consent to sex with adults five or more years older than them.

In addition to serving the jail time and probation, Simpson also ordered Steele to complete 300 hours of community service and pay $4,671 in fees and fines, East Idaho News reported. 

Since Steele pleaded to a non-sexual crime she does not have to register as a sex offender, according to the news outlet. 

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